Weeduncs.com

Midway through a question about the 12-point deficit they faced in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder cut off the inquiring reporter.

“No no no, hold on, never down for the count,” Ridder said in his postgame press conference.

He has a point. In the first two games of this season Atlanta, entered the fourth quarter without the lead. In this young season, the Falcons have outscored their opponents 27-0 in the final period of games to achieve a 2-0 season start for the first time since 2017. That figure marks the Falcons as the best fourth quarter team in the NFL this season.

That sentence seems unbelievable after their last seven seasons of habitual choking.

Arthur Smith’s Falcons are unconventional in a lot of ways, so breaking from that sordid tradition of abusing fan morale is par for the course. The third-year head coach has fully implemented his brand of positionless offense. This novel approach to offense has the Atlanta offense brutal to try and defend.

Smith regularly tight ends and running backs lined up at wide receiver to gain mismatches on linebackers in space where they typically do not possess the athleticism to cover the likes of Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson. If the defense lines up smaller defensive backs with the necessary coverage skills to contain the versatile Falcons, Ridder can change motion the players into the backfield and run the ball into the undersized and undermanned defensive front.

It’s a dilemma for defenses, who become worn down as the game moves on, running in circles trying to contain the elusive running back Robinson, or taking punishment from power back Tyler Allgeier.

As defenses tire, they cannot force the Falcons offense off the field. The longer they are on the field, the more defenses tire. It’s a difficult position to be in as a defense, and it’s Atlanta’s recipe for winning the fourth quarter.

Atlanta possessed the ball for 12 minutes more than Green Bay on Sunday. That shows why they had ample opportunity to score.

That is why they are breaking from tradition.

That is why they are never down for the count.